It's been a long time coming, but the Mangum Tigers return to the state basketball tournament on Thursday.

It's been 30 years since the Tigers have been to the Big House. In 1977 Rick Bull (current Altus High School basketball coach) was a member of the Tigers which defeated Fort Gibson and lost to eventual champion Beggs in the semifinals.

This year's edition of the Tigers begin their quest for a state title on Thursday when they play Oktaha in the first round. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany.

It's been a great run for coach Jeff Carlisle's Tigers and defense is the name of the game. Mangum has yielded only 39.2 points something that just doesn't happen by accident.

“We've played well on defense all year,” Carlisle said. “We work on it a lot.”

The Tigers go into the game with a 20-6 season record and are winners of 13 of their last 14 games while Oktaha is 21-5. Mangum was ranked fifth and Oktaha third in the final poll.

Oktaha is young team with a freshman and three juniors starting. Six foot freshman Cale Elam is the leading scorer with 10.4 points per game.

“When you get this far, everybody is good,” Carlisle said. “They (Oktaha) are athletic and they were there (in the state tournament) last year.

John Merritt, Jace Clayton and Paul Epperson are the big weapons for the Tigers. Merritt, who shoots well from the outside, leads the team in scoring with a 14.7 average. He missed the first eight games of the season due to a football injury. Since his return, the Tigers are 15-3. Clayton averages 12.8 while Epperson is a mainstay on the boards and the defensive end.

If Mangum defeats Oktaha they will move to the semifinals which will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at Southern Nazarene. They would play the winner of Coalgate and Pawnee contest which is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.

Other first round games has Oklahoma Christian (23-3) against Crescent (16-10) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and Foyil (19-8) facing Washington (16-10) at 8:30 p.m.

Oklahoma Christian is considered the favorite to win the state championship. They have one of the top players in the state in Blake Griffin who has signed a letter of intent to play for Jeff Capel's Oklahoma Sooners and is a McDonald's All-American selection. Griffin is averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds per game.

The Saints also have defeated Oklahoma City Southeast, McGuinness and Vicory Christian, three teams that are in the Class 4A state tournament.

Tigers notes: Mangum is making its sixth appearance in the state tournament in the school's history.

They won the state title in 1952 and have an overal 5-4 record in state tournament games.